Deborah De Salvo
Professor Arganoff
POS4235001_2016F_16527
2016, November 16
Effect of Media on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions in the United States
The effects of media on voting behavior tends to be overestimated, but still remains a complicated argument. People are led to believe that media plays a significant role in the way people vote, but really, people have the tendency to seek information that goes along with their pre-existing views or ideas. The media chooses which stories to report and what to emphasize so that a person may believe it is a greater deal than it really is. People generally already know whom they want to vote for, but then they choose to follow the media that supports their idea making their opinion stronger …show more content…
Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat there are always ways to spread information quickly using these sites. There was one article I found online that talked about how social media was ruining politics. According to Nicholas Carr, social media favors the bitty over the meaty, the cutting over the considered. He continues, “It also prizes emotionalism over reason. The more visceral the message, the more message, the more quickly it circulates and the longer it holds the darting public eye.” During the election as I logged onto many social media sites I never saw that many logical arguments. Most people got their information from memes that could easily screen shot any moment and make it look completely different than it was meant to be. For example, there was a meme that had a picture of Trump and Obama in the white house where they were shaking hands and Trump was not looking at Obama while Obama was staring straight at him. The meme said, “When you cannot look at someone in the eye because you are a racist”. Later on that day I found a different picture of Obama looking away while Trump was looking straight at him. People who are against Trump would continue to share the first picture that made him seem arrogant, failing to realize that it was just a quick moment captured and there was another picture that portrayed a different point of view. The problem with today’s society …show more content…
"The Influence of Television on the General Election." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 10 May 2010. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.
Carr, By Nicholas, By J.M. Berger, By James Higdon, and By Julie Sedivy. "How Social Media Is Ruining Politics." POLITICO Magazine. N.p., 2 Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Nov. 2016
Gallup, Inc. "Majority of U.S. Voters Think Media Favors Clinton." Gallup.com. N.p., 03 Nov. 2016. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
Gerber, Alan S., Dean Karlan, and Daniel Bergan. 2009. "Does the Media Matter? A Field Experiment Measuring the Effect of Newspapers on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 1(2): 35-52.
Green, R. Kay. "The Game Changer: Social Media and the 2016 Presidential Election." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 2016. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
Swoyer, Alex. "Post-Election Poll: 78 Percent Say Media Coverage Was Biased - Breitbart." Breitbart. N.p., 15 Nov. 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
Wolf, Amy. "Power of the Press: Can the Media Influence Voting Behavior of Legislators? New Vanderbilt Research Says “yes.”." Https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/02/28/media-voting-behavior-legislators/. N.p., 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Nov.
Professor Arganoff
POS4235001_2016F_16527
2016, November 16
Effect of Media on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions in the United States
The effects of media on voting behavior tends to be overestimated, but still remains a complicated argument. People are led to believe that media plays a significant role in the way people vote, but really, people have the tendency to seek information that goes along with their pre-existing views or ideas. The media chooses which stories to report and what to emphasize so that a person may believe it is a greater deal than it really is. People generally already know whom they want to vote for, but then they choose to follow the media that supports their idea making their opinion stronger …show more content…
Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat there are always ways to spread information quickly using these sites. There was one article I found online that talked about how social media was ruining politics. According to Nicholas Carr, social media favors the bitty over the meaty, the cutting over the considered. He continues, “It also prizes emotionalism over reason. The more visceral the message, the more message, the more quickly it circulates and the longer it holds the darting public eye.” During the election as I logged onto many social media sites I never saw that many logical arguments. Most people got their information from memes that could easily screen shot any moment and make it look completely different than it was meant to be. For example, there was a meme that had a picture of Trump and Obama in the white house where they were shaking hands and Trump was not looking at Obama while Obama was staring straight at him. The meme said, “When you cannot look at someone in the eye because you are a racist”. Later on that day I found a different picture of Obama looking away while Trump was looking straight at him. People who are against Trump would continue to share the first picture that made him seem arrogant, failing to realize that it was just a quick moment captured and there was another picture that portrayed a different point of view. The problem with today’s society …show more content…
"The Influence of Television on the General Election." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 10 May 2010. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.
Carr, By Nicholas, By J.M. Berger, By James Higdon, and By Julie Sedivy. "How Social Media Is Ruining Politics." POLITICO Magazine. N.p., 2 Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Nov. 2016
Gallup, Inc. "Majority of U.S. Voters Think Media Favors Clinton." Gallup.com. N.p., 03 Nov. 2016. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
Gerber, Alan S., Dean Karlan, and Daniel Bergan. 2009. "Does the Media Matter? A Field Experiment Measuring the Effect of Newspapers on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 1(2): 35-52.
Green, R. Kay. "The Game Changer: Social Media and the 2016 Presidential Election." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 2016. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
Swoyer, Alex. "Post-Election Poll: 78 Percent Say Media Coverage Was Biased - Breitbart." Breitbart. N.p., 15 Nov. 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
Wolf, Amy. "Power of the Press: Can the Media Influence Voting Behavior of Legislators? New Vanderbilt Research Says “yes.”." Https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/02/28/media-voting-behavior-legislators/. N.p., 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Nov.